Jump to content

Rachel Reeves

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Mndata2 (talk | contribs) at 00:26, 18 November 2022 (→‎Early life and career: Improved link). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Right Honourable
Rachel Reeves
MP
Official portrait, 2017
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Assumed office
9 May 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byAnneliese Dodds
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
In office
5 April 2020 – 9 May 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byFrancis Maude (2010)
Succeeded byAngela Rayner
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
De facto
5 April 2020 – 9 May 2021
LeaderKeir Starmer
Preceded byJon Trickett
Succeeded byAngela Rayner
Chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee
In office
12 July 2017 – 6 May 2020
Preceded byIain Wright
Succeeded byDarren Jones
Shadow ministerial posts
2010–2015
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
In office
7 October 2013 – 8 June 2015
Leader
Preceded byLiam Byrne
Succeeded byStephen Timms (acting)
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
In office
7 October 2011 – 7 October 2013
LeaderEd Miliband
Preceded byAngela Eagle
Succeeded byChris Leslie
Shadow Minister for Pensions
In office
8 October 2010 – 7 October 2011
LeaderEd Miliband
Preceded byAngela Eagle (acting)
Succeeded byGregg McClymont
Member of Parliament
for Leeds West
Assumed office
6 May 2010
Preceded byJohn Battle
Majority10,564 (26.2%)
Personal details
Born
Rachel Jane Reeves

(1979-02-13) 13 February 1979 (age 45)
Lewisham, London, England
Political partyLabour
SpouseNicholas Joicey
RelationsEllie Reeves (sister)
Children2
Alma mater
WebsiteOfficial website

Rachel Jane Reeves (born 13 February 1979) is a British politician and economist serving as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, she has been Member of Parliament for Leeds West since 2010.

Born in Lewisham in London, Reeves studied at New College, Oxford and the London School of Economics before working as an economist at the Bank of England, the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. and HBOS. Elected at the 2010 general election, she served in Ed Miliband's Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 2011 to 2013 and Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2013 to 2015.

Reeves did not return to the Shadow Cabinet following Jeremy Corbyn's election as Labour leader in 2015, instead serving as chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee from 2017 to 2020. After Keir Starmer was elected as leader in 2020, he appointed Reeves as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, shadowing Michael Gove. In May 2021, she replaced Anneliese Dodds as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Early life and career

The daughter of teachers[1] Graham and Sally Reeves of Lewisham, south-east London,[2][3] Reeves was educated at Cator Park School for Girls in Bromley.[4] At school, she won a British Under-14 girls chess championship title in a tournament organised by the now-defunct British Women's Chess Association.[5] After sitting A-Levels in Politics, Economics, Mathematics and Further Mathematics, she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at New College, Oxford (MA), achieving a 2.1.[6] She then graduated as MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics.[7] She worked as an economist at the Bank of England and British Embassy in Washington, D.C. between 2000 and 2006.[8] Reeves moved to Leeds in 2006 to work for HBOS.[9] She was once interviewed for a job at Goldman Sachs, but turned it down, despite claiming that the job could have made her "a lot richer".[10]

Reeves cites the influence of her father on her and her sister Ellie Reeves MP on her socially democratic politics. She recalls how, when she was eight years old, her father, Graham, pointed out the then-Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock on the television and "told us that was who we voted for". Reeves says she and her sister have "both known we were Labour since then".[11] She joined the Labour Party at the age of sixteen.[12]

Political career

Reeves stood as the Labour Party parliamentary candidate in the Conservative safe seat of Bromley and Chislehurst at the 2005 general election, finishing second.[13] She also contested the 2006 by-election in the same constituency, following the death of sitting Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) Eric Forth, and finished in fourth place – while the Lib Dems jumped to second. Labour support fell from 10,241 votes to 1,925, in what was described as a "humiliation" for Labour.[14][15] The result was the worst performance for a governing party since 1991.[16]

Reeves later sought nomination for the Leeds West seat at the 2010 general election,[17] seeking to replace John Battle, who had chosen to retire.[18] She was selected to contest the seat from an all-women shortlist of Labour Party prospective parliamentary candidates.[2] She was elected with a majority of 7,016 on 6 May 2010 – a 5,794 reduction in the majority enjoyed by Battle.[19] In her maiden speech, delivered on 8 June 2010,[20] Reeves praised the work of Battle and committed to continue fighting for justice for the victims of the Armley asbestos disaster and their families. In a series of questions in Parliament, she enquired whether the government would honour promises by the previous government to compensate victims of asbestos diagnosed with pleural plaques, and bring legislation into force making it easier to pursue claims against insurers.[21]

Reeves in 2012

Following the 2010 election, Reeves supported Ed Miliband for the Labour leadership because she felt he was the candidate most willing to listen to what the voters were saying about where the party went wrong.[22] After becoming an MP, Reeves was appointed to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee[23] then as Shadow Pensions Minister in October 2010.[24] In her role as Shadow Pensions Minister, she campaigned against the Government's proposed acceleration of equalising state pensions ages for men and women.[25] She was promoted to the post of Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury in October 2011.[26][27]

Appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in 2013, Reeves proposed that anyone unemployed for two years, or one year if under 25 years old, would be required to take a guaranteed job or lose access to benefits. She caused controversy within the Labour Party by stating Labour would be "tougher" than the Conservative Party in cutting the benefits bill.[28] She caused further controversy in early 2015 by stating "We [Labour] don’t want to be seen as, and we're not, the party to represent those who are out of work".[29]

Following Jeremy Corbyn's election as leader in 2015, Reeves did not return to the Shadow Cabinet after her maternity leave[citation needed] and supported Owen Smith in the 2016 Labour Party leadership election.[30] In September 2016, Reeves described her constituency as being "like a tinderbox" that could explode if immigration was not curbed.[31]

When Keir Starmer became Labour leader in 2020, Reeves was appointed as Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, with responsibility for Labour's response to Brexit and shadowing Michael Gove.[32]

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer

Reeves was promoted to the role of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in a shadow cabinet reshuffle on 9 May 2021, replacing Anneliese Dodds.[32]

In December 2021 Reeves said she would support a 2p cut to the Income Tax basic rate, if the Conservatives proposed that. She opposed the planned 1.2% rise in National Insurance rates. Reeves said Labour planned to replace business rates with a new system that charged shops fairly compared to larger online businesses.[33]

In an interview with the Financial Times, outlining her forthcoming speech in Bury on strengthening the economy, Reeves said a Starmer government would be pro-business and committed to fiscal discipline. She said Britain had seen Japanese-style Lost Decades of growth, which she said a Labour government would reverse through following fiscal rules and eliminating borrowing for day-to-day spending, with no unfunded election spending commitments. This she said would enable government capital spending, above the current 3% of GDP per year limit, to promote growth. Labour would be both pro-worker and pro-business. Reeves did not think Britain would rejoin European Union or its single market in the next 50 years. She said she was against the return of freedom of movement for workers between the UK and EU.[34][35]

Reeves also said the falling membership of the Labour Party was a good thing, as it was shedding unwelcome supporters.[34][35]

In her Bury speech on 20 January 2022, where she was introduced by MP Christian Wakeford who had recently defected to Labour from the Conservative Party, she added more detail to her plan:[36][37]

  • A £28 billion climate investment plan, which would create UK based jobs and support industry;
  • A target to creating 100,000 new businesses over five years;
  • Mutual recognition of professional qualifications with the EU;
  • Veterinary agreements to help the food and drink industry;
  • Restore visa-free touring for musicians.

Political positions and views

Reeves has written studies on the financial crisis of 2007–2010 for the Fabian Society's Fabian Review, the Institute of Public Policy Research,[38] the Socialist Environment and Resources Association,[39] and the European Journal of Political Economy.[40] In an article for Renewal entitled "The Politics of Deficit Reduction", Reeves offers her critique of the then-current financial situation and efforts to bring down the budget deficit.[41] Reeves was a proponent of quantitative easing in 2009,[42] to alleviate the late-2000s recession having studied the effects of the policy on Japan in the early 2000s.[43]

Reeves supports the High Speed 2 rail project,[44] and raised the issue in the House of Commons,[45] as well as campaigning for the proposed Kirkstall Forge railway station.[46] In 2008 she was involved in the campaign to save the historic Bramley Baths[47][48] and in 2011 the campaign to save the children's heart unit at Leeds General Infirmary.[49][better source needed]

Reeves is a vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel,[50] contributed a chapter to a book about Israeli politics and society,[51] and supports the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation.[52][53]

Writing

Echoing similar titles of publications by Roy Jenkins in 1959 and Tony Wright in 1997, Reeves wrote the new edition of Why Vote Labour? in the run-up to the 2010 general election, as part of a series giving the case for each of the main political parties.[54]

Reeves's biography of the Labour politician Alice Bacon, Baroness Bacon (1909–1993), titled Alice in Westminster: The Political Life of Alice Bacon, was published in 2017.[55] Bacon was the first and previously only woman to represent a Leeds constituency, having represented Leeds North East and then Leeds South East between 1945 and 1970.[56][57]

She regularly contributes to The Guardian newspaper,[58] as well as the websites LabourList[59] and Progress.[60]

Personal life

Reeves is married to Nicholas Joicey,[61] a civil servant and Gordon Brown's former private secretary and speech writer.[62] The couple have homes in Leeds (Bramley) and London.[63][64] Reeves announced her first pregnancy on 20 September 2012,[65] and gave birth to a daughter.[66] She also gave birth to a son in 2015.[64]

Rachel's younger sister Ellie is the Labour MP for Lewisham West and Penge and is married to John Cryer, Labour MP for Leyton and Wanstead.[67][68]

References

  1. ^ Aitkenhead, Decca (13 September 2013). "Rachel Reeves on the Newsnight tweet: 'I just felt humiliated'". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b Thorpe, John (23 August 2007). "Women at war". Yorkshire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 28 April 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  3. ^ "Who's Who". ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  4. ^ "Latest News". Cator Park School for Girls. Archived from the original on 29 April 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  5. ^ Peterson, Macauley (10 August 2018). "Nine-year-old talent gets to stay in the UK". ChessBase. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Politicians". Daily Info. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  7. ^ Reeves, Rachel. "About Rachel". rachelreeves.net. Rachel Reeves. Archived from the original on 23 April 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  8. ^ Stratton, Allegra (19 March 2009). "Waiting in the Wings". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  9. ^ Staff writer (15 September 2007). "Battle lines drawn in Leeds West". Yorkshire Evening Post. p. 7. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  10. ^ Admin (24 November 2011). "Interview with Rachel Reeves". Investors Fresh News. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  11. ^ "PPC Profile: Rachel Reeves". labourlist.org. LabourList. Archived from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  12. ^ "Leeds West MP: Rachel Reeves interview". Yorkshire Evening Post. 2 June 2010. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  13. ^ "Voting begins in Bromley and Chislehurst by-election". This is Local London. 29 June 2006. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  14. ^ Staff writer (30 June 2006). "Labour and Tories suffer at polls". BBC News. Archived from the original on 22 February 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  15. ^ Assinder, Nick (30 June 2006). "Blair to count cost of poor night". BBC News. Archived from the original on 5 July 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
  16. ^ Freedland, Jonathan (30 June 2006). "Way off base". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  17. ^ "Women at war". Yorkshire Evening Post.
  18. ^ Stoddard, Katy (7 April 2010). "General Election 2010: Safe and marginal seats". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  19. ^ "Election 2010". BBC News. 7 May 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  20. ^ "Economic Affairs and Work and Pensions". TheyWorkForYou. 8 June 2010. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  21. ^ Jackson, Leigh (8 June 2010). "MP takes up asbestos battle". Insurance Post. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  22. ^ Sparrow, Andrew (February 2012). "Rachel Reeves, rising star". Ethos. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
  23. ^ Staff writer (24 June 2010). "New MPs elected to select committees". PoliticsHome. Archived from the original on 28 June 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  24. ^ Selby, Thomas (14 October 2010). "Rachel Reeves takes Shadow pensions role". Money Marketing. Archived from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
  25. ^ Reeves, Rachel (8 June 2011). "Don't turn back the clock for women". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  26. ^ Selby, Thomas (7 October 2011). "Miliband promotes Rachel Reeves to Shadow cabinet". Money Marketing. Archived from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  27. ^ "Ed Miliband promotes fresh faces to Labour top team". 7 October 2011. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  28. ^ Helm, Toby (12 October 2013). "Labour will be tougher than Tories on benefits, promises new welfare chief". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  29. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (17 March 2015). "Rachel Reeves says Labour does not want to represent people out of work". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 17 August 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  30. ^ Smith, Mikey; Bloom, Dan (20 July 2016). "Which MPs are nominating Owen Smith in the Labour leadership contest?". Mirror. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  31. ^ "Jeremy Corbyn rules out pledge to cut immigration". The Guardian. 28 September 2016. Archived from the original on 27 September 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  32. ^ a b Doherty, Caitlin (9 May 2021). "Reeves rises while Dodds drops in Labour reshuffle". Evening Standard. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  33. ^ Boscia, Stefan (9 December 2021). "Labour's Rachel Reeves would support cut to UK basic rate of Income Tax". City A.M. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  34. ^ a b Parker, George; Pickard, Jim (19 January 2022). "Labour party is now 'pro-business', vows Rachel Reeves". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  35. ^ a b Calvert, Alana (20 January 2022). "Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves says Labour has ditched Corbynite past and is now 'pro-business'". The Independent. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  36. ^ "Labour now the pro-business party, says Labour's Rachel Reeves". BBC News. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  37. ^ Dumitriu, Sam (25 January 2022). "Rachel Reeves must ground Labour's policy in compelling plans for economic growth". City A.M. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  38. ^ Reeves, Rachel; Dolphin, Tony; Clifton, Jonathan (15 July 2009). Building a Better Balanced UK Economy. Institute for Public Policy Research. Archived from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  39. ^ Reeves, Rachel; Pakes, Andrew. The Road to Copenhagen (PDF). Socialist Environment and Resources Association (SERA). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 August 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
  40. ^ Reeves, Rachel; Sawicki, Michael (March 2007). "Do financial markets react to Bank of England communication?". European Journal of Political Economy. 23 (1). Elsevier: 207–227. doi:10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2006.09.018. hdl:10419/84696. S2CID 154341122. Pdf. Archived 15 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  41. ^ Reeves, Rachel (2010). "The politics of deficit reduction". Renewal. 18 (3–4). Lawrence and Wishart. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011.
  42. ^ Reeves, Rachel (5 March 2009). "Labour must challenge the Tories on quantitative easing". LabourList. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  43. ^ "Rachel Reeves: can she save the Labour Party?". The Independent. London. 9 October 2011. Archived from the original on 12 December 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  44. ^ Reed, Jonathan (30 March 2011). "Transport Minister reacts to today's demand from 90 regional leaders for high-speed rail link". Yorkshire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  45. ^ Staff writer (29 October 2010). "Minister 'shrugs off' Leeds MP's transport questions". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  46. ^ Staff writer (30 June 2011). "Leeds: MP calls for end to railway station 'limbo'". Yorkshire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  47. ^ "Bramley baths, Leeds". victoriansociety.org.uk. Victorian Society. 25 July 2008. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  48. ^ "Leeds West MP makes a splash for Bramley Baths". Yorkshire Evening Post. 21 July 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  49. ^ "Oral Answers to Questions — Health". theyworkforyou.com. TheyWorkForYou. 12 July 2011. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  50. ^ Wright, Oliver (10 October 2014). "Anger grows within Labour over forced Palestinian vote". The Independent. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  51. ^ Richards, Paul (18 November 2011). "Like Ed, we should all be friends of Israel". Progress. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  52. ^ Reeves, Rachel (6 August 2011). "Preserving Auschwitz-Birkenau". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  53. ^ Harpin, Lee (7 August 2019). "Dame Louise Ellman becomes new Labour Friends of Israel chair". Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  54. ^ Reeves, Rachel (2010). Why Vote Labour?. London: Biteback Pub. ISBN 978-1-84954-019-3. OCLC 477289445.
  55. ^ Kynaston, David (22 January 2017) Alice in Westminster: The Political Life of Alice Bacon by Rachel Reeves – review in TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 10 October 2018
  56. ^ Staff writer (6 May 2010). "Election reaction: Rachel is Leeds West's first lady". Yorkshire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  57. ^ Hookham, Mark (2 June 2010). "Leeds West MP: Rachel Reeves interview". Yorkshire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 12 April 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  58. ^ The Guardian. Rachel Reeves profile. Retrieved 11 October 2018
  59. ^ "Rachel Reeves". LabourList. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
  60. ^ "Articles by Rachel Reeves". Progress. Archived from the original on 24 June 2017.
  61. ^ See the following:
  62. ^ "Who's new in the new Who's Who?". Grimsby Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
  63. ^ "Rachel Reeves". Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 27 August 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  64. ^ a b Mikhailova, Anna (29 May 2016). "Fame & Fortune: I said no to a Goldman Sachs job". The Times. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  65. ^ Riddell, Mary (21 February 2015). "I'll end the bedroom tax then have a new baby, says Rachel Reeves". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  66. ^ Bowyer, Laura (20 September 2012). "Baby joy for Leeds West Labour MP Rachel Reeves". Yorkshire Evening Post. Archived from the original on 20 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  67. ^ "Clean sweep for Corbyn supporters in Labour NEC election". BBC News. 9 August 2016. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  68. ^ Greatex, Jonny (26 August 2012). "MP Tom Watson finds new love after break up of marriage". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rachel Reeves.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Leeds West
2010–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
2011–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
2013–2015 		Succeeded by
Vacant
Title last held by
Francis Maude 		Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
2020–2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office
2020–2021
Preceded by Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
2021–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rachel_Reeves&oldid=1122514906"